


The Droid's Choice

by greyone01



Series: Damerey Week 2018 [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: DameRey, F/M, JediPilot, damereyweek, droid parents, joint custody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-08-01 23:04:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16293578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyone01/pseuds/greyone01
Summary: When Poe Dameron had to fly without BB-8, he realized that the dynamics of his relationship with the droid had changed now that Rey is in the picture.Day 3 of Damerey Week 2018





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Damerey Week Day 3 prompt: favorite shared friendship, first kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt for this chapter: favorite shared friendship

The hangar was hardly ever quiet, especially after three X-wings land following a successful skirmish with a dozen TIE fighters. Maintenance crews and droids whirl about busily, starting their checks before the pilots had even disembarked. The air was charged with electric energy, with the smell of jet fuel wafting around each worker in the hangar.

Three figures at the center of the frenzied activity seemed oblivious of the happenings around them. The conversation between the two humans was so heated that neither noticed that they were starting to build an audience around them. Their voices were raised, hand gestures wild. The droid was watching them in silence, its photoreceptor anxiously shifting between the pair.

“He was just making sure I was okay!” Rey exclaimed, the pitch of her voice dangerously high.

“He knows full well that he had to report for duty!” Poe Dameron shot back with equal ferocity.

“Obviously he thinks I’m more important than that!”

“I know you are, but you could’ve ordered him to go and do what he was supposed to do!”

“Order him?! You know orders don’t work very well with him, he pretty much does what he wants to do!”

A few meters away, Finn cast Snap Wexley a confused look. “Does this have anything to do with how Poe was running around like a headless chicken looking for Rey just before you guys left?”

The X-wing pilot nodded. “You never met your parents, right?”

“No,” Finn replied, not knowing what Snap was implying. 

“So you’ve never seen them or any parents fight?”

Finn shook his head. “No. What’s this got to do with that?”

Snap nodded towards the still quarreling pair. “Well, that’s what this is. BB-8’s parents are arguing about something he did or did not do.” Jessica Pava snickered beside them. 

Finn looked amused as he crossed his arms over his chest. He settled back and watched in amusement as his two closest friends fight about their droid-child. Eventually, the spherical astromech emitted a shrill series of beeps, making his humans (and everyone else in the hangar) turn to him. He continued his tirade, ending with what seemed like binary for a huff, rolling away to where R2-D2 was quietly watching. Rey stomped off to the opposite direction, and Poe was left looking confused, obviously torn between the droid and the girl.

*****

“Dameron, got a minute?” a familiar voice rose above the din in the busy hallway as Poe stepped out of the conference room. He sighed. After his debrief with General Organa, he had been swept first to a meeting with Connix and her team in command, then to a holo-meeting with former New Republic officers in the conference room. When the meeting concluded, he thought he could finally get a few minutes to shed off his flight-suit, but apparently, he was needed somewhere else.

He stepped to the side of the now-closed conference room door and waited for Snap Wexley to reach him. Like him, Snap still had his orange flight-suit on, but unlike Poe, he still wore the flight-vest, which Poe left in the cockpit of Black One, just before he went to the debrief. 

“Just got back from another patrol,” Snap explained upon reaching Poe. “All’s quiet for now.”

“You had to say the Q-word,” Poe groaned. It was a superstition among them that saying the word quiet will jinx the benign state of things. “Let’s see how long it will take for those alarms to go off.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Snap waved his concerns off. “Look, can we go somewhere a little less busy? I need to talk to you about something, and a busy hallway is not exactly the right place for it.”

“Should I be worried?” Poe raised an eyebrow, nodding to the elevators. Snap just shrugged and followed him. Poe punched the topmost level and they stood in silence as the elevator rose.

“Okay, talk,” Poe said as they stepped off the rooftop.

“Look, I’m saying this not as a fellow officer, but as a friend,” Snap began, matching Poe’s strides.

“I'm getting worried,” Poe said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You, Rey and BB-8,” Snap remarked seriously. “What happened today?”

“Kriff, not you, too, Snap,” Poe groaned. “Seems like everyone’s got an opinion about that today.”

“I fly with you, Poe,” Snap pointed out. “I need you to be able to focus fully up there and not have you distracted by your missing droid.”

“And I did, didn’t I?” Poe replied. “If it were up to me, I’d always fly with BB-8. But apparently, it’s not the case anymore.” He sighed. “It’s not easy, flying without an astromech, but I can do it if needed, and do it quite well. Like today.”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt you can,” Snap agreed. “It’s not your skills, Poe. I just don’t want you distracted up there.”

“I wasn't, okay?” Poe huffed. He was ready to put all the BB-8 and Rey business behind, being stuck in the meetings for a couple of hours had quelled much of the anger he felt earlier, but talking about it again with Snap was making him irate again.

“Sorry, buddy,” Snap sighed. He looked at his friend with concern. “It’s just that, for practically as long as I’ve known you, I can probably count on one hand the number of times you’ve flown without your droid. And it wasn’t just me who saw how upset you were just before we left, when you couldn’t find BB-8.”

“He chose to stay with Rey,” Poe remarked with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

“You don’t sound too pleased with that.”

“I’m not,” Poe agreed. He looked pleadingly at the older man. “Don’t laugh, but you know how that droid is like my best buddy. We’ve been through a lot, together. He’s always chosen me over anyone else, until today.” He knew he sounded awfully like a jealous child, but this was Snap, one of his closest friends and Snap very well knows the dynamics between him and BB-8.

“I’m sorry, man,” Snap sounded sincere with his words. “But from what I’ve heard, Rey took him on when everyone thought you died in Jakku. I don’t know about how much droids are able to feel, but he must have been devastated when he thought you were gone. On top of that, he was lost in a foreign planet until Rey came along. She found him when he was feeling most vulnerable, and took care of him, so it’s not really surprising that your droid had developed some sort of loyalty to her as well.”

Poe took a moment to digest all of Snap’s words. “I suppose you’re right,” Poe finally admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful of how she looked after him, but I guess I just assumed that he’d just go back to following just me. Guess I’d have to get used to sharing him with her now.”

Snap clapped him on the back. “Yep, I guess you will.” In a more light-hearted tone, he added, “That was what I was telling the others earlier during your very public argument with Rey. Seems like you both now have joint-custody of the droid.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “We are definitely not as his –“

“Parents,” Snap finished for him. “No, mate. Whether or not you or Rey like it, that droid made it clear. You will need to either re-program that droid, which will take forever and can end up in a million unfortunate ways, or find a way to work this out with Rey. I’d say it’d be easier to do the latter.”

“Kriff, this unbelievable,” Poe ran a hand down his face. He looked at Snap in amazement. “I can’t believe we’re actually having a serious conversation about droid...PARENTING, and that this was probably the sanest advice I’d ever gotten from you.”

Snap chuckled. “I guess I’m probably getting wise in my old age.” He gave Poe another friendly clap on the back. “I’ll leave you to it. I should head back to Kare, before she sends out a missing person alarm.”

Poe gave Snap a mock salute as his friend headed to the elevator. Once alone, he sighed and headed the concrete border of the rooftop. He looked out and allowed himself to get lost in thoughts of BB-8 and Rey. He had to admit, what Snap said made sense. While he had no intentions of abandoning his droid in Jakku, he also hadn’t planned on getting caught by the First Order and getting thrown out of the TIE fighter he and Finn took to Jakku. Not knowing what happened to him, and with Finn believing he died in the crash, BB-8 certainly would’ve thought he was gone. He felt guilty now for being jealous of Rey, when he should be grateful his droid chose someone like her as second parent.

Parent. Poe snorted at how ridiculous it all sounded. Kriff, he was an adult, a veteran soldier, and for the good part of the day, his head has been muddled of thoughts of his droid and Rey and how the three of them fit in the same picture. He should be focused on the war, on how to resuscitate the dying Resistance.

But, he’d be kidding himself if he doesn’t admit these two are very much part of his life as much as the cause. While BB-8 has been pretty much a constant in his life, Rey was very much a new unknown. Nevertheless, this doesn’t make her any less important than the droid, and honestly, he knew that in the short time that he’s known her, he wanted her in his life, not in a minor way, but in the same way that Leia or Snap or BB-8 are. He knew it was wishful thinking, he’s way out of her league. Still, he had to admit that he’d grown to care for her. He wanted to be that constant for her – someone she knows she can always go to, who will always come back for her, who will always be there for her no matter what. She never had that person in her life, and he wanted to be just that. He wanted to be her person. And if he had to share his precious droid for that to happen, then so be it. Seemed like his droid had already decided for him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always seen Snap and Poe as best mates/wingmen to each other, and of course, Poe and BB-8 as father and son. I couldn't make up my mind as to which of these friendships are my favorite, so I decided they're both my favorite.
> 
> More Damerey (plus their droid-child) interaction in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe finds out the reason why BB-8 chose to stay with Rey, and together, they sort things out.

Rey saw him before he was even aware of her presence. She followed BB-8 as he led her to the rooftop of the command building. According to BB-8, Poe apparently goes to rooftops when he’s upset, and obviously what happened a few hours ago caused this trip to the highest point of the building. She sighed in resignation. It seemed like she’s just not winning today. 

She walked to where he was, letting BB-8 go before her. He had his back to her, he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on the meter-thick concrete hedge that bordered the building’s rooftop. The border rose up to his waist level, so he was bent forward a little bit, giving her a good view of his perfect backside. She stopped and gave herself a mental shake. She was there to apologize, not to ogle his ass, no matter how perfect it may be. Another mental shake.

BB-8 reached him first, making Poe do a half-turn as she walked the last few paces to his side. “I’m sorry,” she said in a quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to steal BB-8 away.”

Poe remained silent, looking out to the world below them. Rey copied his pose and waited for any response from him. When none came, she decided to go ahead and give him the explanation she had prepared in her head. “I was in a bad way. I was so out of it, I didn’t even hear the alarms go off. If I had known, I would’ve asked BB-8 to go back to you.”

She heard Poe take a deep breath and sigh. “What happened?” he asked, still not looking at her.

Rey debated whether or not to tell him what happened. Usually, it was a no-brainer for her. She found it easy to talk to Poe, with his non-judgmental attitude to anything and everything. When she told him how her childhood went, she felt empathy from him, not pity. When she told him of the Force-bond between her and Kylo Ren, she felt his protectiveness, not disgust. Whenever she would ask him to explain things she couldn’t understand, he was patient with his explanations and never condescending.

She had seen him get angry a couple of times, but she had never seen him upset with her. Until today. She was startled with how worked up he got over what happened, and her instinct for self-preservation had kicked in when he became stern with BB-8. She had felt an overwhelming need to defend the droid and things just escalated from there. 

“What happened, Rey?” Poe asked again, his head turning slightly to her direction. She met his eyes and, to her surprise, saw no trace of any anger. He was regarding her with concern. She could feel her walls crumbling down. Whenever he looks at her like that, it makes her want to rush to him. Because she knows he’s on her corner and he would do anything in his power to ease whatever it was that was troubling her. This time though, she couldn’t help but wonder if that would still be the case if she answers his question truthfully.

“He found me,” she said, finally deciding to tell him what had gotten her so rattled. “The Force-bond just opened again, and he found me.”

His mouth dropped open in shock. No wonder BB-8 refused to leave her. He would’ve asked the droid to do exactly what it did. “Gods, Rey, did he hurt you? Are you okay?” 

She smiled wanly. “No, he didn’t hurt me, and no, I don’t think I’m okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “I came here to apologize to you, for making BB-8 miss his mission with you,” she said. “I just want to make things right between us again. I don’t want to burden you with all the drama that’s happening to me.”

Poe sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Kriff, Rey, I’m so sorry,” he said. “Now I feel bantha-shit selfish for thinking only about myself.” He turned around and hopped to sit on the border. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad over this. It’s just that I don’t feel safe in an X-wing without BB-8. But if I knew why he had decided to stay with you, I would’ve understood.”

“You didn’t really give me a chance to explain,” Rey said wryly, continuing to scan the landscape behind him, but not really seeing anything. While Poe appeared not to be cross anymore, she was still wary that all’s not forgiven.

“Yeah, I know,” Poe acknowledged self-consciously. “I’m really sorry. What did that scum say?”

“He wanted to know where we are,” she continued. “Good thing I have no idea where this planet is. He began digging into my mind again, and I did my best to block him.”

Poe looked like he was about to say something, but Rey kept talking. “Even if I did know where we are, I’d never give us up.” She looked at him pleadingly. “You got to believe that.”

“Of course I do,” Poe nodded, the sincerity of his words mirrored in his eyes. “But I know he’d try anything to get what he wants.” 

“I know, but I’ll fight him every step of the way. And if he does get through to me, I’ll tell you or Leia right away.” She shifted until she was close enough to touch him. “But that wasn’t all that’s gotten me rattled.” She took a steadying breath, and moved to stand in front of him. She needed to look him in the eye. “Poe, I’m still not very good blocking my mind against him. When he couldn’t find what he wanted, he began to scour my thoughts. I couldn’t stop him. When he spoke your name, he said it with so much anger and disdain.”

“Wait, what? Why would he even mention me?”

Rey tore her eyes away from him and looked down on her hands. “He said he kept finding you in my mind, in my thoughts. He got really angry with that, vowed that he will get me and that he will never lose me to you.”

She heard Poe’s sharp intake of a breath. She doesn’t know what he will make of what her words just implied. She herself had not realized that until this encounter with Kylo Ren. Truth be told, she was stunned by just how much Poe had become a part of her life, of her thoughts. Nevertheless, that inadvertently put a target on Poe’s back, and as much as she wanted the pilot to be in her life, she truly couldn’t and wouldn’t blame or stop him if he decides to walk away for good. She braced herself for his reaction, prepared to lose yet another person she cared about. 

She felt his gentle touch on her chin, making her raise her downcast gaze. His eyes were warm and kind, and he regarded her with such fondness that she found herself stepping into his embrace. This was the closest she’s been with Poe, despite having spent a lot of time around him. It surprised her how safe she felt with his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around him, welcoming the comfort he offered. 

“So apparently you think about me a lot, eh?”

Rey felt a blush rise up to her face, which she kept buried on his shoulder. “Yeah, apparently I do. I didn’t even realize that until the Supreme Leader so kindly pointed it out.”

“Nothing kind about that bantha-shit.”

Rey pulled back just so she can look at him directly. “Poe, what he said about losing me to you. I never was his to lose in the first place. And if you want to walk away from all of this, I’m not going to stop you.”

“You own yourself, nobody else does,” Poe affirmed. “And I’m not walking away. I don’t care if that will put me high up in the First Order kill list.”

She kept her head on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. It was oddly comforting how she was feeling not the least bit stifled being held by him. The confrontation with Kylo Ren had confused her so much – his words chilled her far worse than if he had said he will blow up every planet in the galaxy. In the aftermath of it, Rey had realized that she had grown so attached to Poe that the thought of being torn apart from him shook her to the very core. 

Neither made any move to let go of the other. Rey felt the anxiety slowly ebbing away, and she had considerably felt more relaxed when he decided to break the silence. “But you still admit to thinking about me a lot, right?”

“Yes, that part was true,” Rey managed a small laugh and tightened her arms around him. “Do you also –“

“Think about me a lot? Yes,” Poe replied lightly, and Rey felt the beginning of a smile on her lips. “But not as much as I think about you. You know what I like more than thinking about you though?”

“What?”

“Being with you.”

“Good answer, flyboy,” Rey smiled, for the first time that day. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. 

BB-8, who had been silently watching this interaction, suddenly emitted a series of beeps that made his master turn red. Knowing Rey also understood what BB-8 just said, Poe simply replied, “Maybe, buddy.”

Or maybe not. “What did he mean by that? What is kiss and make up?” 

“It’s just a saying. When two people fight, that phrase is sometimes used to mean they’ve reconciled and there’s no more conflict.”

“Oh,” Rey said, her tone implying she still wasn’t quite understand it. Poe seemed to catch onto it, because he then said, “It’s like the kiss is both an apology and an acceptance of that apology. Then all is good between those involved, and the fight is over.”

“Oh,” Rey said again, this time, with comprehension. She pulled back slightly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Then her eyes locked onto his, something shifting in the air around them as they looked at each other. He broke eye contact with her to briefly glance at her lips, and she nodded her assent to his unspoken question. He closed the distance between them as he touched his lips to hers, and her eyes fluttering close as waves of tingly feelings washed over her. As all coherent thoughts fled from her head, she followed the movement of his lips with hers, savoring the pleasant sensation. His kiss erased all doubts in her head that he didn’t reciprocate what she was feeling. When they broke apart, Rey felt her heart soar when she saw how he was looking at her. For the first time in her life, someone was finally looking at her with love.

“Bee-wop?”

“Not now, buddy,” Poe murmured, brushing his lips with hers again. Rey felt herself melting against him, stepping as close as she could. She sighed as his hand reached up to cradle the back of her head, allowing him to give her a kiss that’s thorough and proper. Distantly, she felt a bump on her left calf, making her move even closer to him. His other hand, which had been on her waist, slid to her lower back, appreciating her move. She felt another bump on her calf, stronger this time, and when she didn’t move, it came again. And again, becoming more forceful each time. When the need for air finally made them broke apart, she softly thumps him on the chest. “If I move any closer, I’ll be pushing you off that ledge.”

Another bump. She then realized it wasn’t him. Reluctantly, she takes a step back and found a spherical body against her leg. 

“Bop-bop-bee-wop?”

Rey scooted down and gave the droid a fond pat on the dome. “Yes, Bee-Bee, we’ve kissed and made up. I think I’m all right now.”

“Bee-woop-woop?”

Poe hopped off the ledge. “Yes buddy, I’ll stay with her. I’ll make sure she’s okay.” He nodded to the direction of the elevator. “Why don’t you go ahead and start recharging?”

The droid seemed to chirp in relief and started to roll away. “I’m really sorry I made BB-8 miss your flight,” Rey said again. “But I’m grateful your droid was with me after what happened.”

“Our droid,” Poe corrected her, moving to stand beside her. She looked at him questioningly. “BB-8’s our droid now,” he pointed out. “You’ve earned his loyalty when you took him on in Jakku. No one else has done that, and I guess it took me this long to realize that I’m not his only master now.”

Rey laid a hand on his arm. She knew how tight BB-8 and Poe were, and while the droid does show some loyalty to her, without a doubt, Poe was still at the top of the list, which was what she told him now. 

Poe seemed unperturbed, and simply said, “I know.” He casually slid his arm from her hand until his hand grasped hers. “But, like it or not, that droid’s also chosen you as his other human. So he’s made himself our droid now. I hope you don’t have any problems sharing custody.”

Rey laughed a little and tugged his hand. “You know, however badly this day started and spiraled, I never would’ve thought it could end up to be one of the best days of my life.” She let go of his hand and rested her hands on his chest. She smiled as Poe’s arms went around her waist. “Think our droid will mind us being together?”

“Not at all,” Poe said softly, closing the distance between them once again. “I think he’d actually be ecstatic about it. I know I am.”


End file.
